Let's have more action and less politics

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Meanwhile, Americans sit on the edge of their seats once again, worrying about the drastic effects the sequester will have on our economy — especially people who work for Long Island’s defense contractors. Will they still have their jobs next Monday?

In my day, when politicians accepted their appointments by the people, there was an understanding that you were going to have to work with those on the other side of the aisle. It’s just the nature of the business. Democracy necessitates negotiating and working together for the common good of the people. But we no longer see this in Washington.

There is no question that America needs to make budget cuts, but the sequester isn’t the way.

Where is Obama’s proposal on what cuts need to be made? It’s time for the president to end his perpetual campaign and step forward with a clear, concrete plan to cut spending in certain areas. He can no longer just say he wants to raise taxes. Just a couple of months ago, he got his tax raises on the wealthy and a new payroll tax that has almost every American paying more to Uncle Sam each paycheck.

Instead of hounding Americans about tax deductions made for charitable donations or devising a plan to cut deductions for mortgage interest (a proposal that will ruin the housing market we’ve worked so hard to build back up), Obama should be focusing on more meaningful initiatives.

If he’s worried about closing tax loopholes, he should start with the taxation of carried interest. Hedge fund managers use this loophole, which allows the carried interest financial managers receive from handling clients’ funds to be taxed as capital gains, and not as ordinary income. Capital gains are taxed at lower rates than ordinary income in an effort to encourage people to invest capital for longer periods of time. By closing this loophole alone, the president could save approximately $2 billion per year.

Or maybe instead of ignoring the issue altogether, Obama can offer some insight into how he’s going to make entitlement programs economically viable in the future.